see schells

change of address

2011-06-02T15:29:00.004-06:00

we are moving! i am happy to announce that we have moved our blog to one that is more user friendly and secure for everyone. please come visit us at http://seeschells4.wordpress.com and know that we are still under construction.

2011-06-02T05:55:00.002-06:00

For at least the last 30 days we have had the fireman practicing every evening and all day on Saturdays across the street. Their state championships are coming up and we will have a front row seat. Timothy has been loving it and this year he has his own firetruck to join in on the action. His favorite thing seems to be spraying his hose. He is sure that fire comes out of the hose even though I have tried to explain that it is water to put out fires, but nope he's got fire in his.

finally a fish

2011-06-01T14:59:00.002-06:00

We went fishing last weekend and Mama was the only one who caught a fish. The kids were so excited, and Charlotte even got to reel it in. Prior to this both kids were convinced that we just could not catch any fish. I have heard more than once out of Charlotte's mouth over that last year how come we never catch any fish? Reid was convinced to prove her otherwise, so finally we took them to a stocked pond right outside of Lander.

We were out there all morning trying to catch one. When we finally did catch this one, the kids were thoroughly entertained watching it flop around and examining all its parts.

We all decided to keep the fish and share it for lunch. When we got home, I cleaned it and fried it in the pan head and tail on. We sat down at the table with our smorgasbord of a lunch and Charlotte ate the entire fish!! The rest of us only got one small bite each. Admittedly it was not as good as the mountain trout I love so much, but that did not stop Charlotte. The first words out of her mouth when I laid it on the table were I want to try the tail. Okey Dokey-she ate a bite of it, but did not ask for seconds of the tail :)

fairy garden

2011-05-24T16:48:00.004-06:00

We are way overdue for a blog post here. I have many cute pictures and videos that will be flooding the blog very soon. For now I couldn't help but post the fairy garden that the kids and I made this weekend. I have always loved miniature gardens and the kids and I have been talking about making a fairy house for about a year-this was a perfect fit. For more inspiration look here.

Easter morning tradition

2011-04-24T15:10:00.000-06:00

We may have started a new tradition-Easter morning t-ball game. The kids had a blast. Charlotte really got it and loved hitting the ball, running around the bases to score on home base, and then taggin people out. Timothy did pretty well too, he is a great hitter as well. Sometimes he forgot where to run so his path between bases was more like a zigzag or an arch. Finally after about 30 minutes, Timothy just wanted to play in the sand. We sure do love having the Park right in our back yard!

dyeing eggs

2011-04-24T15:05:00.000-06:00

This activity went so smoothly that we should do it more than once a year. The kids did not fight over any of the accecories, I was truly impressed. We made some beautiful eggs.

the loot

2011-04-24T15:02:00.000-06:00

The hunt was mass bedlem! We didn't get any pictues because it was all we could do to keep up with the kids and it was over in less than 1 minute!! The kids wanted to check out their loot right away. Mama was happy that there was no candy :)

waiting for the hunt

2011-04-24T14:58:00.000-06:00

City Park hosts an egg hunt every year on the Saturday before Easter. We were out with the 2-5 year old group waiting for it to start. There isn't much hunting for these guys, just all layed out on the grass. We were coming up with strategies to get the most eggs. Charlotte said she would just start picking up the first ones she saw, and Timmy said he would run out to the middle first.

2011-04-13T16:51:00.004-06:00

ouch you know that one hurt. he took a big digger over his bulldozer and landed straight on his mouth. he will happily tell anyone about who asks. timothy has been so friendly lately to everyone-greeting with big waves and "hellos".

both charlotte and timothy have been interested in reading. charlotte can read almost the entire 1st book in our early reader set (one and two word sentences of very similar words). she is pretty proud, and so are we. timothy may not be too far behind as he has even more interest in the words than charlotte!

take a picture of this

2011-03-16T09:57:00.001-06:00

Kids seem to be directing pictures these days,
and Charlotte wanted a picture of she and Cumberland.

2011-03-13T13:25:00.001-06:00

Will somebody please tell me where my sweet baby boy went??
Break my heart, they are both growing up too fast!!

dress up

2011-03-13T13:19:00.001-06:00

Oh boy, we have been full of dress up games lately! I have moved the dress up clothes to the play area in the basement and it draws the kids down there much more often. My kids are still not quite convinced that there are no monsters in the basement, but most of the time they don't give it a second thought. They play down there so happily and tend to work out problems better than if I am around. Ahhh a little more quiet around here lately.

park playdate

2011-03-01T10:39:00.001-07:00

splashing, sloshing, swinging,

running, hopping, falling,

slipping, and sliding

-all part of a warm winter playdate in city park.

dance party

2011-02-23T14:22:00.001-07:00

Last weekend we headed over 2 mountain passes to Victor, Idaho to visit Lauryn, Jordy and Whityn. We had fun hanging around and having a couple dance parties.

pac

2011-02-21T17:17:00.001-07:00

We love the Pinedale Aquatic Center.
Here are some shots from a recent trip-very enjoyable for all!!

2011-02-16T14:27:00.003-07:00

Happy 4th Birthday Charlotte!!
There is definitely a 4 year old in the house. She has attitude, and serious opinions. She is not afraid to stand up to her parents, or being very dramatic. We are working on humility, giving, and being thankful :)
Charlotte has grown 1 1/2 inches in 1 1/2 months! She is sleeping better than she ever has. She is into cleaning up her room during quiet time (huge bonus for me, she makes the bed and everything), picking out her own outfit, and declaring her favorite color often (which shifts between pink and gold daily). She knows how to write her name and is working on many other letters too. She is still quite the little ballerina, director, performer, storyteller, and joker. Most recently, we have been talking about death, the universe and her spirit. We love you Charlotte and hope you have a wonderful 4th year of life.

2011-02-14T15:53:00.004-07:00

We celebrated Charlotte's birthday yesterday with a couple of friends. Charlotte was insistent that everyone wear party attire. When she woke up yesterday morning (the day of her party), she got herself dressed before she even left her room, she then walked straight up to Timothy and said "Please look handsome for my party. Do you have a tie?". She then walked up to me and said "I hope you will remember to wear a dress." She was not letting it go, she asked that I make sure all persons coming to her party were aware of the dress code. We are definitely 4 years old lately.
(Most photos compliments of Blair :)

pillows

2011-02-09T14:49:00.001-07:00

I am in love with pillows lately. I have made several because I was not finding what I wanted, and needed some items to tie my decor together and add some texture. Most of the pillows on my bed were made several years ago, as decor for the living room. I moved the pillows to my bedroom to go with my beautiful new quilt made by this wonderful aunt of mine.
Then, I took an old cream zippered sweater and made a new pillow with great texture. I left the zipper on the pillow and it looks really fun!
I was then inspired to make these felt flower pillows to pull together my brown, red, and gray in my living room. Mine are certainly less perfect than hers, but I am satisfied.
If you are looking for more fun, free, online tutorials look here.

2011-02-05T08:54:00.001-07:00

We got a suprise package in the mail with clothes for everyone from CG!! The kids had to put their handmade wares on right away. They both wanted to wear them to bed :) What a treat.

say cheeeese

2011-02-01T05:45:00.000-07:00

Timothy was very excited for me to take a picture of him with a doe bedded down right outside!! I love these winter visitors.

ipsssdr

2011-01-30T13:44:00.003-07:00

Once again we had a blast at the International Pedigree Stage Stop Sled Dog Race the largest sled dog race in the lower 48 states. We are of course pulling for our local team with musher Jerry Bath. This is a world renowned 8 day race and we had teams from all over the world: Canada, Sweden, Jamaica, and more.

The kids and I stood at the day 2 start line and counted down before each team raced by. The kids would have stayed until every last dog was gone. We hope to make this an annual fun family event. You can go to the link above and see a map of the race, see more pictures and follow along as the race progresses. We sure will.

Update: you have got to check out day 2 pictures here. i want to be a musher!!

lander's little secret

2011-01-30T13:29:00.000-07:00

So it has been wonderful here the last few weeks in the 40's!! Yesterday it was almost 50 degrees. I keep hearing folks say how unusual that is for us in Lander, but from my last 6 years here, it seems pretty normal. November and December are bone chilling cold, but then temps get tolerable. Maybe its global warming but I'll take it.
We have been able to get out lots, running around, playing tag and just being silly outside. The kids and I love to talk about vitamin D from the sun; they reach up and try to grab more. We also love seeing animal tracks and trying to figure out who made them.
I think warm winters are Lander's little secret :)

#1 sign

2011-01-30T05:40:00.002-07:00

The number one sign that I should mop more often:

Scene: me in the dirty, dirt on the floor, dishes in the sink, crumbs on the counter kitchen with a sponge mop and a mop bucket scrubbing away.

Enter 4 year-old with attitude: What are you doing?

Yep, pretty sure if she doesn't know what I am doing, I don't do this often enough.

2011-01-16T17:18:00.000-07:00

A great day for a spontaneous playdate in the park. We have had at least 4 days in a row of almost 50 degrees!! We headed over to the park to go ice skating, but the rink was closed since it has been so warm. Luckily we found some friends, the Rudd's, at the park in the same situation. A great remedy for the mid-winter crazys.

pom poms

2011-01-10T09:51:00.008-07:00

This weekend the kids and I made tissue pom poms from MS instructions on her site. They turned out great!! And were the perfect decor for the kids room, with their new curtains from Ikea.
The kids helped me lay out all the same colors together. MS suggests using 8 sheets of paper, but I found they looked much better with 12-16 sheets depending on the size of the ball.
Then we folded them accordion style.
We put a pipe cleaner (color of their choosing) in the middle, trimmed the ends (semi circle for a puff balls look,and triangle for a dahlias look) and started pulling them apart.
Here's Timmy hiding from the camera :)
Then the kids lost interest and went outside to shovel and sled with their Papa, while I continued puffing out pom poms.
Then the hanging (picture compliments of Charlotte).
Viola!!! Fun decor for the kids room. I couldn't believe how easy these were to make. I have been thinking of buying them on Etsy for a year, just because I did not want to deal with making them. I am so glad I made them instead!! They are pretty hearty as well, the kids really handled them before they got hung up, and they withstood it all.

happy 2011

2011-01-01T18:36:00.000-07:00

Happy New Year.
Baby, it is cold outside. I am not sure if if rose above zero today. On winter days this year, here is what you will find us doing.

Last night we took the kids to see Tangled at the movie theater. It was their first movie experience. They were full of popcorn, a few twizlers, a few sips of 7-up, and ready for the full screen experience. The were mezmerized. I kept looking at them frozen in their seats for the first 30 minutes. Reid and I were like little kids filled with excitement for hours before we left for the theater, I am not sure if I was more excited to take them or to see a feature on the big screen for the first time in at least a year. Afterward, we headed out for mexican and on the way home the kids were in the back seat giggling away and saying "Feliz Anyo Nuevo..hehehe.....Feliz Anyo Potato... hehehe...Feliz Anyo Tomato...hehehe". It was a great end to the night hearing them giggle and roar together.

I hope this finds everyone looking forward to a great new year.

skating

2010-12-31T15:56:00.003-07:00

The kids have been itching to skate ever since the rink opened. We finally found some time last Sunday afternoon to go. The had fun, and the smartest decision Reid and I made was wearing our boots instead of skates.

christmas morning

2010-12-30T18:41:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful, peaceful Christmas. The kids had fun opening presents, each with their own style. Charlotte fast and furious, moving from one present to the next. She wanted to see her whole lot before she began to play. Timothy chose to savor each present for 15 or 20 minutes before someone urged him on to the next one.
This was a pretty big Christmas for the kids and I am thankful that they will not (I hope) remember next year to compare.
I am pretty sure we stayed in our jammies all day.

in the meantime

2010-12-30T09:38:00.004-07:00

I know, I know, Christmas pictures right?? They are coming very soon. In the meantime, I have to share an adorable conversation that I had with Timothy last night. We had just finished reading books and were laying in my bed. When he said:

T: I'm not tired
M: Okay, let's talk for a while. Tell me about your day at Mrs. Donna's. Who did you play with?.....Did you play with Charlotte?
T: yea
M: Did you play with Mason?
T: yea
M: Did you play with Kieran?
T: no
M: Well, who else did you play with?
T: Avery, she's pretty.
M: oh, she's pretty.
T: Yea, but I cannot pick her up. Charlotte can pick her up.
M: Oh
T: I'm gonna cuddle wif (with) her.
M: I bet she is a good cuddler.
T: Yea, she's not scary.

Be still my heart. He is adorable, and so sweet and gentle. For all his tough boy side he has just the opposite soft, gentle side. I think he broke it down to the basics pretty well. I wonder if he will be thinking the same thing about girls 14 years from now?

santa x 2

2010-12-20T08:39:00.000-07:00

We saw 2 different Santa's this year. One 2 weekends ago at Cinch's nursing home and one last weekend at the Children's Museum. The kids did not want to get off his lap either time!! They thought he was the best. Charlotte asked for a horse (3rd year in a row), and Timothy asked for flowers-pretty cute :)
Charlotte then asked when we got home "Mama, why did that Santa look different from the other one?" Ummmm-I thought I had a few more years before I would get a question like that. So much for blind faith :O)

sledding

2010-12-11T13:55:00.002-07:00

tree adventures

2010-12-11T13:37:00.001-07:00

We didn't head too far off the trail this year for our tree. The kids thought it was a blast for Papa to pull them on the sled down the trail. They only tipped over a couple a couple of times in the deep powder. It was a bit humerous and a bit frustrating at times to help them in powder up to their thighs. I can only imagine how hard it was for them to try to walk in that powder too. We made our selection quickly and headed back to a nearby hill for some sledding.

ready for christmas

2010-12-11T13:30:00.000-07:00

Here are the kids and Ava getting ready to load up in the van and cut down our Christmas tree.

Nutcracker

2010-12-04T14:43:00.005-07:00

Night one of the Nutcracker performance was last night. Charlotte was beautiful, and even though she looked a bit apprehensive she was eating it up. She could see us and some other people she knew from the stage and she just had a blast smiling and waving at us, it cracked me up. Timothy had fun watching her up there too and trying to follow along with the story. One more performance tonight and we can relax tomorrow.

I think this last photo is my favorite :)

our first snow

2010-11-09T09:08:00.000-07:00

We finally got some snow this year!! As soon as Timothy saw the snow outside he said "I want to scoop it up and dump it out." As soon as he was dressed, he was out the door, he found the snow shovel and was shoveling the drive! I had to snap a photo.

mailbox

2010-11-09T08:56:00.000-07:00

Reid had a great idea he wanted the kids to paint our mailbox. They had a blast. I feared we would end up with a brown mailbox, but with a little direction they did great. And now the front of our house looks a little less sterile and a little more fun.

happy halloween

2010-10-31T20:05:00.000-06:00

Does anybody else think I am in for trouble??

the pirate and the fairy princess.

Here is Charlotte's scary pirate face.

Charlotte's ballet class.

more riding

2010-10-31T19:56:00.001-06:00

she rides

2010-10-31T12:47:00.002-06:00

She can do it! Charlotte has been riding her bike without training wheels for about 2 months now!! She had been practicing some on her balance bike (before it got stolen), and was doing pretty well. Then one day, her friend Willow came over with her mom, Stacy. Willow brought her balance bike and she and Charlotte rode like champs for 30 minutes. Charlotte learned a lot from Willow in that 30 minute window, she really focused on picking up her feet and balancing more.
When we got back to our house, Charlotte wanted to try her big girl bike. The girl was determined. Stacy worked with Charlotte for 30 minutes and I couldn't believe how persistent Charlotte was-falling and trying again-numerous times. I think it really helped that Stacy was with her and not me. That's all it took-she has been riding ever since. She rarely needs help even getting started these days. She goes so fast that she is waiting on Timmy and I all the time. Timothy is riding his big wheel and sometimes I push him very fast just to catch up to her.
She is very proud of herself, and really wanted to be able to show everyone her riding. I let her know I was going to put this post on the blog, and she said "no!" at first, but I explained that she may not see some of you for a while and that she could show all of you then.
Her new skill has made a fun new outing for us, and next summer I am sure she will be riding along with us-we will have to teach Timmy next (and find a new balance bike too).

family adventure

2010-10-31T09:49:00.002-06:00

We recently went on a family adventure. We headed to Laramie to see a football game, then we went on to the historic town of Centennial. Next we headed to Saratoga to soak in the hot springs. On our trip we got to go fishing, camp in our new popup camper, go inside a train caboose, and see an old fire engine. We had a great weekend.

pumpkin patch

2010-10-12T05:31:00.003-06:00

We had a blast at the pumpkin patch yesterday with friends. We loaded up a van full of kids and headed just past Riverton to a beautiful patch with "thousands and thousands of pumpkins"-according to Isa. The kids had so much fun riding in the wheelbarrow, picking out pumpkins, rubbing pumpkins, and jumping around that we could have stayed all afternoon.

We already had our carving pumpkins at home, so it was fun to just choose some pretty varieties-green, white, striped, orange/red. I am such a sucker for color and form; I could have easily bought twice as many!

I have been meaning to post on here something Timothy said this week about our carving pumpkins. Charlotte and I picked the pumpkins out at the grocery store and placed then by the front door, when Timothy saw them later that afternoon he exclaimed excitedly "Mama, tomatoes for Christmas!!!" I have been laughing about that one all week. He was on the right track.

fall

2010-10-04T06:09:00.005-06:00

It has been such an amazing Fall here. The weather has been mild for at least a month and the Aspens are now peaking. Timothy, Charlotte, Oma and I headed up to Sinks Canyon to meet the Schneider's for a beautiful afternoon walk, snack and, playtime. Charlotte fell asleep on the 10 minute drive and Oma was wonderful enough to stay with her while Timothy and I ventured out.
It looks as if we missed the whole month of September on the blog, so I have some updating to do. We have been super busy wrapping up summer, starting preschool, finishing house projects, selling a business, and starting a business.
Charlotte started preschool in September and goes to Child Development Services, CDS, 4 mornings a week (Charlotte cracks me up-she calls her school EFG instead of CDS). It took her a few weeks to get in the groove, but a field trip on the bus every week has given her something to look forward too. She and I have been reading a book about the butterfly life cycle, and we were out on a bike ride when all of a sudden she said excitedly "Mama, I see a butterfly hatching from a tuba!". She meant pupa of course, and I was cracking up. She is making such leaps emotionally, mentally, and physically lately. Look forward to a blog post soon where she will announce some of her new skills. For one she is an accomplished liar these days, sometimes she even fools me. She has more patience with her brother and they now play wonderfully together and get into much mischief together as well. At school she has been learning about Fall, working on her letters, and learning teamwork. She has gotten pretty goofy lately, and it is pretty funny to watch.
Timothy has been silly right along with her. He still follows along with whatever she does, but is starting to have directives of his own as well. He is full of words and sentences and is quite a good talker. He is still as particular as ever and knows just what he wants and is getting a bit better at letting us know what that is. Lately if he is talking, and you answer or join in his conversation, he will let you know that he was not speaking to you. He says "No, I was talking to ______." Sometimes in the mornings he will shower me with kisses and then say "Give me kisses, I like kisses." He melts my heart. He is such a boy, he greets anyone he is excited to see with a growl/yell, and it is fun to watch him get excited about things. We went camping this month in our "new" popup camper (we sold the airstream this month), and Timothy talked the whole week before about our upcoming adventure in his camper. I have really enjoyed the fact that he has spoken early and often, it gives me insight into him and his thoughts. I did not know that children his age were capable of so much.
Reid sold his frame shop!! And is on to dreaming of new ventures. I am very proud of him.
I am sure there is much I am forgetting, but hope to have more time this month for posts. Thanks for hanging in there :)

construction zone

2010-08-26T05:19:00.000-06:00

Our house has been busy this week-track-hoes, drywall, and concrete-oh my!! The highlight so far for the kids was the track-hoe that came on Monday to dig a huge hole in the yard, and make a huge pile of dirt and rocks right next to it! Oh boy some clean-up ahead. We have been working to drywall the section of wall that was removed, pour a concrete pad for the wood stove to sit on, and put in an egress window in the guest bedroom downstairs. It has been exciting and I do love seeing things coming along.

coconut

2010-08-26T05:14:00.000-06:00

The girl is obsessed with the word "coconut" lately. I am not sure how it happened but she calls everyone "coconut". I must hear that word 50 times a day (better alternative to some others that have been flying out of her mouth lately). Uncle Grant and Aunt Leah had the great idea to buy the girl a coconut so she could see just what it was all about. She had fun trying out the milk and the fruit, and maybe seems slightly less obsessed with them now?

uncle grant and aunt leah

2010-08-26T05:02:00.004-06:00

What a fun visit we had with Uncle Grant and Aunt Leah (minus of course the 24 hr stomach flu that everyone but Charlotte took their turn at getting). Charlotte and Timothy just love having family visit and always hate to see them go.

2010-08-26T04:49:00.000-06:00

Sleeping in the living room (or pretending anyway). The moments that they play together well are just heaven around here. They get to enjoy each other and work together. Here they gathered all the pillows, babies and blankets they could find to make themselves a bed.

2010-08-26T04:44:00.000-06:00

Camping at Green River Lakes.

playdate

2010-08-02T14:09:00.003-06:00

Charlotte and Timothy have found some great friends in Isa and Sylvi. They all seem to get along remarkably well, and it gives us moms a little break. Today they played hopstotch outside in fairy costumes, or with trucks in hand (the usually accessories for Timothy these days).

maiden voyage

2010-07-27T08:10:00.001-06:00

The kids had fun pretending to be captain's of their own boat in the creek right at our campsite.

string to leigh

2010-07-27T04:59:00.003-06:00

We went camping last weekend at the base of the Teton Mountains. We put our canoes in on String Lake and paddled over (with a small poratge in between) to Leigh lake and our campsite, 14A. We were joined by our friends Lauryn, Jordy, and Baby Whit (you should definitly check their site for lots more Schell photos). We had an amazing time. I cannot believe what a difference a year makes as far as the ease of camping. Charlotte fell asleep in the canoe both on the way to the site and on the way home. And she and Timothy were so content and played so well that I should have brought a book to read.
Our campsite was perfect for kiddos; a small stream running through it for play, a sandy beach along the shore for more play, warm mornings and very few bugs. There was a big waterfall not 5 minutes from our site, and pretty big trout in the lake too. This will definitely be a trip we do again.

just fine

2010-07-22T04:53:00.000-06:00

As you can see, the kids were just fine while we were gone. I heard a rumor that mid-week, Charlotte stated she did not want Mama and Papa to return she wanted Granny, Grandpa, and Brook to stay forever. Hmmmmmm, I wonder why???

our pack trip

2010-07-22T04:34:00.002-06:00

We had a blissful, quiet time with each other and four beautiful horses. The fishing was easy and we had 2 dinners of trout. At one point, I got tired of pulling the fish off of my hooks and I just stopped fishing! Pretty unbelievable. There were moments where we lacked anything to do but sit and be quiet.
It was fun to see Reid use skills that I have never see him use (horse-packing), and it was fun to learn from him, and fall in love with him all over again. I loved plodding along on the trail, it was a bit meditative to ride and get lost in the view and the clip-clop of the horses feet. But that moment only lasted a short bit as there were things to do-check to see if the horses still have their shoes, rein Bob in as he is trying to pack and eat again, check the paniers to see if they are riding okay on the pack horses, keep my horse, Rojo (roha) in line as she likes to let her mind wander.
It was just the vacation I needed. Reid's father, Frank. asked when we returned if I was homesick---uuuumm, no. I love those little buggers, but I knew they were just fine.

we're off

2010-07-11T20:59:00.002-06:00

Reid and I are headed out for 5 days on horseback into the Wind's, need I say more :)

segment #11

2010-07-11T20:54:00.003-06:00

The last of our vacation pictures. There were so many good beach pictures, and I am sure I will find more to post later-but for now I chose to post some of my favorites. They just feel so pure, and free. Which is the way the beach felt when we arrived each morning at 6 am -the best time to be there!

segment #10..and only one more to go

2010-07-11T05:56:00.001-06:00

We finally made it to Charleston on our vacation-first stop, the aquarium. The kids had a blast touching things, and seeing all kinds of creatures. You can see here Timothy's thoughts on the snake (in general he is a bit more hesitant than his sister around animals). And Charlotte found one huge turtle!!
See below for our current goings on :)

..and now birding

2010-07-11T05:49:00.001-06:00

Although fishing was unsuccessful yesterday, we did manage to catch a bird at home--or maybe it caught us??
The neighbors have been feeding this blackbird and it has become very friendly. About 10 or so days ago Reid and I noticed a small black bird (with feathers barely erupting) under our big evergreens. I saw the little guy for several days, and am not one to interrupt natural processes so I left him. I finally lost track of him under the trees and figured he did not make it.
Well earlier this week, Reid noticed our neighbors feeding this little guy (presumably the same one, but who is to say).
Then on Friday, right after putting both kids down for nap/quiet time. I heard this squawking out the back door. I thought it must be an adult bird yelling at my cats for being to close to their nest, and I went out to investigate. Before I even opened the screen door, I saw this bird sitting on the patio, right under (and I mean short pouncing distance!) my sleeping cat-who could have cared less.
I walked out the door and instead of the bird flying away as I assumed it would, it flew right towards me-so I put my arm out and it landed. Well I was shocked, and then realized it must be the bird Reid saw the neighbors feeding.
Boy was it hungry. It downed 3 huge earthworms (that I unfortunately had to cut into pieces) and wanted more. I was pretty sure this guy was going to get gobbled up by one of the cats or the dog, who were all 3 now very interested. But the little one refused to fly off, so I walked him over to the neighbors house and gave them a few quick bird pointers and left. I admit it was a fun experience having it be so tame, but I felt sorry for it and was sure it was a goner as it was spending so much time on the ground and so reliant on humans for food.
Sure enough, it came around yesterday again, asking for food. But this time it was spending more time on low branches in the trees and on our roof. And it again flew right at us, hovered as best it could until Granny (Melody) put her hand out and it landed. Now with the kids awake, and family visiting-it was a fun experience. The little one was hungry again, and we fed it a combo of moistened chicken food and moistened cat food. After about 30 minutes of squawking, eating and hopping from person to person, it decided it was full and flew off. I am am bit more hopeful today that it will survive.
And what an amazing experience for the kids, they both held it, pet it and fed it-I cannot believe how tolerant the little one is. I am sure it will be back today :)

fishing

2010-07-11T05:24:00.003-06:00

We got a new boat, and there have been a couple fishing trips made on it already this week.
Reid and I snuck out for a half-day of fishing just the two of us, Thursday morning. The kids were in childcare and I only felt mildly guilty for fishing instead of working. Mostly I felt super fortunate to live in such a beautiful place and have the opportunity to do have fun with my husband mid-week.

On the way up to fishing that morning we passed a truck carrying lamas, I assumed for a pack trip, and I felt for a moment that I was in far away Patagonia. The lake, Worthen, was so quiet mid-week, we were the only boat out there. After many patient hours, I caught 3 trout. The kids had fun checking them out, poking, and giggling. Timothy even asked if he could kiss them--I replied if you want. He ended up deciding otherwise. We cooked them whole in the pan and gobbled them up for dinner.

Charlotte, Reid, Frank (Reid's father), and Brook went fishing again yesterday morning. They had fun and worked very hard, but were unsuccessful. Those trout are wiley, as Charlotte would say. And while they were busy fishing (almost all day), I was at home with Timothy and Melody (Frank's wife) getting ready for my pack trip with Reid. I could not believe how much I am capable of getting done and crossed off my list in one day with one kiddo and an extra set of hands. I am used to working at a snails pace (with 2 kiddos). I felt so prepared by day's end. And I cannot wait to tell you all more about our upcoming trip.

To see more great pictures from their fishing trip, go to my facebook page and look under the photos tab--Melody has tagged some and they should be here to see.

segment #9

2010-07-10T06:41:00.001-06:00

Dinner on the porch, with friends at Granny and Grandpa's house. Although our friends Beau and Suzanna are cute, their son Deke is adorable!!

segment #8

2010-07-10T06:32:00.002-06:00

A visit to Hendersonville is complete without a visit to the Carl Sandburg home. After a short hike up the hill (or mountain to the folks that live there), we visited the barn with all the new baby goats, had a snack picnic, and headed back down. I was proud of the kids for hiking the whole way up by themselves. We took lots of breaks to check out cool nature stuff-waterfall, tree roots, spiders, and a super neat inch worm.

segment #7

2010-07-10T06:26:00.001-06:00

Nothing beats strawberries fresh from the farmer's market.
I forgot what it was like to eat a warm, ripe, fresh strawberry.
One of my favorite treats -I think Timothy agrees.

segment #6

2010-07-09T12:37:00.001-06:00

This is the never-ending vacation blog :) Here is one on the way to Hendersonville.--thrilled.

segment #5

2010-07-02T06:04:00.001-06:00

ahhhhhh, the lake. I think the pictures say it all.

segment #4

2010-07-02T05:21:00.001-06:00

Dress-up, dress-up. My mom (aka CG) has been waiting for as long as I can remember to # 1 have an excuse to compile a dress-up box and then # 2 have kids around to enjoy it. Wish granted :)

question to my computer savvy friends

2010-07-02T05:18:00.001-06:00

I just got a new computer and am now having trouble viewing some of the pictures and slideshows on the blog. Suggestions???? Grant????? Pat?????

segment # 3

2010-07-02T05:10:00.002-06:00

This post could have easily been called, friends and family -or- feeding lots -or- the buffet line -or- summer camp -or- more fun than I have had in a long time.

This vacation was a blast. And being on the lake with 10 adults and 6 kids with more activities than time for was a great way to start it out.

Can you see all 6 kids playing with Grandpa George on the piano? In this shot they all just finished playing --there were 12 hands and 60 fingers on the piano and it actually sounded beautiful.

weekend

2010-06-28T19:40:00.001-06:00

We went up to Frye Lake, near Worthen Meadows for a fun morning of canoeing, fishing, picnicing, and getting mud between our toes. Whose toes are those??????

Charlotte is in love with fishing, she has her own pink fishing rod and is now a master at trolling (letting her line hang in the water while Mama and Papa paddle) in the back with her Papa. She trolled for 30 minutes--some serious 3 yr old patience. Every once in a while she would ask is there a fish on there yet? And at the end of the day why didn't we catch one?

Timothy had fun too and was only interested in fishing because that's what his sister was doing. He was the happiest sitting between my legs right up in the bow of the boat-the best view in the house.

Perhaps next time I will be daring enough to fish the camera out of my bag (silly pun intented) while paddling a canoe with 2 toddlers. But this time, just getting them to sit on their bottom and not rock the boat while paddling was enough for this trip.

segment #2

2010-06-28T19:18:00.002-06:00

CG and Grandpa George's house, Day 2 vacation.

segment #1

2010-06-21T05:31:00.002-06:00

We recently went on vacation to visit family and friends in North Carolina. I think the easiest way to see all the highlights from our vacation is in segments. So here is segment #1, our time in Denver. We went down a day early to make our traveling easier. We love to catch The Rockies playing whenever we can and we had fun cheering them on.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY

2010-06-20T13:16:00.001-06:00

Happy Father's Day

Timothy's 2

2010-06-20T12:51:00.005-06:00

Well the birthday pics are making it up before the vacation pics--such is life.
We had a fun impromptu family celebration which went something like= bike ride to visit Cinch, bike ride to the grocery to pick up corn dogs and the cake Papa ordered Timmy, eating goodies from the grocery store in the park, playing on the jungle gyms, 2 tired kids and one tired Mama crashing out for a nap, then more celebration later at home opening presents, and playing with water in the back yard.

hellyer's farm

2010-05-21T11:00:00.005-06:00

We had fun this morning at the Hellyer's farm. We went out just to see the baby lambs, and were greeted by lambs, puppies, chicks, kittens, calves, and a brand new foal. Charlotte wanted to hold all the babies and did not want to leave. Timothy was pretty content watching his sister hold most of the animals, and was super excited to see all the big equipment (he calls all of them big tractor)and get to ride the play tractor. Unfortunately we did not get a chance to actually see the foal born that morning as both kids were melting down and it was time to get out of dodge. Enjoy the pictures!!

ohhhhhh, the yard

2010-05-19T09:30:00.001-06:00

I am looooving our yard. Isa, Sylvi, and Blair came over to play on Monday and once again boat races were in order.
I believe the backyard clothing of the summer for both kids will consist entirely of board shorts, rash guards, and crocs.

Blair always takes such great photos, I feel I must post them. For those of you who haven't experienced Timothy recently, here he is modelling his classic "don't bother me" look. The kid cracks me up!!

Fi-Ter-Tuk

2010-05-18T08:32:00.000-06:00

The boy is obsessed!

the boy

2010-05-16T14:52:00.001-06:00

lest you think we lost a child--here are some pictures of Timmy. He is here doing "man" work with Papa, and there is one shot of him watching his sister dance from the best seat in the house.

2010-05-16T14:07:00.000-06:00

2010-05-16T06:34:00.002-06:00

Charlotte's dance class performed at Westward Heights Care center, where her great-grandmother,Cinch lives. This is a video of her class' encore, where they just free dance around with the teacher. Nothing extremely exciting happens-mostly a video for those who can't get enough-you know who you are :)
Charlotte revels in the attention and spotlight--oh boy.

backyard fun

2010-05-15T12:09:00.002-06:00

The creek in our yard is running full force. The melting of 12" of snow (in town and 40" in the up stream mountains) will do that. We donned our mud boots, got our catamarans and had boat races all afternoon. I love that our new backyard is full of different niches each with its' own set of adventures.

live update

2010-05-14T07:08:00.001-06:00

Something I never thought I would have to say: Timothy, penis' don't belong on the table

mother's day weekend

2010-05-10T07:39:00.003-06:00

We had fun Mother's Day weekend. Our friends Lauryn, Jordy, and Baby Whit came over to visit from Victor, Idaho. It was Lauryn's first Mother's Day. It was fun to celebrate with another mom. You can see their account of the weekend here.
Charlotte remembered as soon as she woke up Sunday morning that it was a special day, and she wished me a "Happy Mama's Day". The mom's were served a delicious breakfast of waffles, strawberries, link sausage, and orange juice.
Over the weekend, Charlotte went fishing with real worms, that she loved holding and once again this year tried to eat :) She bit the worm twice and then decided against eating it.
We also had some fun with the camera, Timothy and I took pictures of ourselves cuddling. He insisted that after he lay on me for pictures, that I lay on him for pictures. He also pointed out the boogers in my nose-fuuuunnny!! He is talking so much. In the bathtub, Charlotte asked Timothy if he could say "Happy Mother's Day" and he did!!!!
Kuddos to all the Mother's out there-it is one hard job!!!!!

spring recital

2010-05-02T16:22:00.002-06:00

Warning: Seriously cute little kids. Charlotte had her spring recital last night, and although she is usually one to follow along with the class something took over once she got onto that stage. Several times she boogied to her own drum-maybe it was the loud music, the decorations, or the curled hair, but she had a blast. And I had fun helping her class too.
Beautiful photos complements of Blair and Phil :)

oink, oink

2010-04-29T05:32:00.000-06:00

We had a fun afternoon visiting some friends piglets recently.

2010-04-29T05:26:00.000-06:00

I consider myself fortunate lately because C and T are still getting along really well and playing together great. I attribute it mostly to some maturity and patience on Charlotte's part. We also tried to emphazise with her how special it was to have a brother, and point out perks and benefits. Timothy has always loved and wanted to do whatever Charlotte is doing. And finally, she allows it! She gets into a mothering role and has fun helping him, directing him, and then playing alongside him. Of course after about 45 minutes someone is usually crying and mom has to intervine, but I consider that normal :) Ahhh-here's to a bit more sanity.

our eggs

2010-04-10T08:26:00.000-06:00

Well, here is our final product. Some beautiful Easter Eggs if I do say so. I decided with help from a wise friend to wait until the kids could appreciate that we are coloring eggs with food ---- so maybe next year. This year for sanity, I used brown eggs and regular-old store bought dye. We got some beautiful colors that way.

I had visions of egg salad sandwiches-however the kids had other ideas. As you can see they were eager to eat their colored eggs, and they each polished off 3-5 a day. It only took a couple days and the eggs were gone-not enough time for me to make my egg salad.

Charlotte kept asking "Why are we going to die eggs? Why would we do that to them?" So,we had to be careful to say that we were coloring eggs. She is beginning to learn more about death, but I don't think she yet realizes that it is an irreversible change (at least for the physical body).

Timothy is full of words! It is amazing. He can count to three and he knows a couple colors well. He certainly is developing into a little boy. I admit I still want him to be a baby-I love our cuddle time together before he goes to bed. I don't ever want that to end. He and Charlotte are playing together so well lately-it has been fun to watch.

If any of you out there dyed eggs with natural dyes, I would love to hear how it went.

sibling smiles

2010-04-02T13:35:00.000-06:00

There are more of these times lately.

natural dyed easter eggs

2010-04-02T13:24:00.002-06:00

Here is what we will be doing tomorrow morning.......

Circus

2010-04-02T13:22:00.001-06:00

We had a blast at the Children's Museum Circus celebration :)

fun with food

2010-03-15T11:20:00.000-06:00

The kids and I had fun creating and eating these bizzy beaver snacks!!

divide and conquer

2010-03-14T08:10:00.002-06:00

Divide and conquer seems to be the best way to deal with sibling rivalry around here. One kid with one parent --it has been nice to get time alone with both kids. Timothy and I have had some great walks in our warm weather lately. One of our favorite things to do is walk 2 blocks and see the neighbor's horses. They are super friendly, sometimes a little too friendly for Timothy.

ballerinas

2010-03-06T07:35:00.003-07:00

Here is Charlotte in her ballet class. She loves it. Next week I am teaching her class-so we will see how that goes. Thanks to Blair for all the great pictures :)

the littlest cowgirl

2010-03-06T05:43:00.001-07:00

Right now Wyoming is having its Winter Fair and last weekend we headed up to the indoor arena at the rodeo grounds in Lander to watch the horses compete. The kids had lots of fun. They see lots of horses, cowboys, and cowgirls. They got to pet a few horses. And Charlotte made a couple new friends: a little cowgirl, Cassidy, and 3 Winter Fair "princeses". These 3 girls were the royal court at the Fair, complete with hats, boots, buckles, those ribbon banner things stating their title, and lots of sparkle. Charlotte insisted on sitting next to them and had a big time. She was the littlest cowgirl there. She even made the front page of The Lander Journal!

papa gets a trim

2010-03-06T05:34:00.000-07:00

At our house, Mama cuts everybodys hair (except her own). And this day, Papa sure was feeling daring to let some little hands help out.

girls day

2010-02-25T12:04:00.001-07:00

Last weekend Charlotte and headed to Dubois with friends for a girls weekend. What fun we had. We hit the road Saturday morning while the snow was flying. We made it to Dubois with constant commentary and questions from little Miss. We ate a relaxing lunch and headed to Deception Creek for some Cross-country skiing.

With all the new snow on the ground the going was laborious. Luckily, I had several friends helping me pull Charlotte in little red sled. It was peaceful, quiet, and just what I needed. After 2 loops we headed back to our cabin, for some yummy dinner and birthday celebrations with friends.

Charlotte has asked me every day since if today is a girls day too :)

three year old in the house

2010-02-18T15:18:00.005-07:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHARLOTTE!!! She is 3 (or was on the 16th). We had a fun day and a fun week. MiMi and PawPaw have been here spoiling grandkids. Charlotte had so many presents to open it was a whirlwind. She has finally now had time to really sit and play with all of them,and it is nice to have some new toys around the house to occupy her time.

Charlotte at three is a creative and sometimes defiant little girl. She is extremely loving and cuddly, when she is in the mood. She has strong opinions about what she wants, color of clothing, cups, bowls (all pink), how her toast should be cut, what size utensil she should use, and how quickly someone should respond to her demands. Oh boy-we are working on manners and calm voices.

She is still into tigers and now sharks too, they are like her imaginary friends chasing her, being bad and needing to be scolded. She has gained quite a motherly instinct and loves to be the Mama. She often tells me that she lives in another house far, far away and that she is the Mama there. She has also developed more patience for sharing things with her brother. Which means we have had a little less sibling rivalry around here lately and more cooperative playing.

She loves art projects, playdough, and coloring on the windows. She draws people complete with eyes, mouth,arms,legs, and hair. She loves reading and would be content having someone read to her all day. She is inquisitive and I love watching her mind grow. I cannot wait to see how she grows over the next year.

Happy Birthday my sweet girl :)

2010-02-12T20:49:00.001-07:00

I was just browsing through some recent photos and found this sweet one of Timothy at Christmas. I love when he cares for his baby, it makes me smile and realize that he is already practicing to be a great father some day. He has not been doing as much baby care recently, and so it makes the moment in this picture even more precious. His favorite thing to push in the stroller now are his trucks.

oddity

2010-02-10T13:17:00.000-07:00

What is wrong with this picture? Snow and ice cream-bbbbrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

priceless

2010-02-10T10:02:00.000-07:00

Conversation at my house yesterday between Charlotte and Mama:

C: (sitting at the breakfast table) where are we going today?
M: We are going to story-time at the library and then to ALCO to get some things.
C: What are we getting at ALCO?
M: We need to get some more soap for the dishwasher.
C: Oh, for Papa’s dishwasher?
M: (smiling inside) yep, for Papa’s dishwasher.
C: Where is your dishwasher?
M: (now laughing inside) Papa is my dishwasher.
C: Huh?
M: Papa washes my dishes.
C: Oh, we need to get him some soap!

He he he he he he he he

i spy

2010-02-05T13:42:00.000-07:00

What fun we have been having with the deer in our yard lately. We came home a couple days ago to find this doe staring right into our breakfast nook. She stayed for quite a while, staring back at the kids and then eating under the trees. The next night she brought back 5 of her friends while we were finishing up dinner. The kids had a blast and Timothy was not pleased unless everyone had there noses glued to the window. If we left the window, he would come get us insisting "'mon, 'mon, dee" (or c'mon, c'mon, deer). We even got to watch 2 bucks sparing, and a coupleof the deer bedded down in the snow and were still there when I went to bed that night.

I still haven't quite figured out who is on display, them or us?

IPSSSDR

2010-01-31T13:39:00.002-07:00

What an envigorating morning we have had. We drove up to South Pass (check out the web cam-that place is wintry) this morning to watch the beginning of the second stage in the International Pedigree Stage Stop Sled Dog Race (IPSSSDR). Inspiring it was. So much excitement, beginning with Charlotte the entire 30 minute ride there asking all about it and mostly "are we there yet??". Really she talked the entire way. She also looked at one of our favorite books on the way there: Togo. The book is based on a true story from 1925 and is about the famous sled dog Togo who led his team 300 miles across Alasksa in January to bring much needed Diptheria serum to the town of Nome. She was sure we were going to see him at race and insisted that we were goint to his house. She even got Timothy mumbling about it.
As we neared the start line for the race the wind picked up and the snow was blowing across the road. Reid and I were getting nervous that we would drive all this way and not even be able to get out of the car. We were skeptical and even Timothy was saying brrr, brrr.
We arrived and luckily found a very close parking space, we bundled up, stepped out of the van, and were greeted by a chorus of barking dogs. It was windy and snowy, but everybody was happy and excited. Charlotte eyes were darting back and forth between the teams looking for Togo.

-We watched people running here and there with the dogs.
-We watched the mushers hop on the back of the sleds.
-We watched the dogs getting harnessed up and led up to the start line.
-We watched our friends Sandy and Jerry take off with their dogs.
-And we visited with the dogs that were staying behind for the day.

As cold as it was, 45 minutes was about all we could take of the cold blowing snow. We thought we were heading off a kiddo melt down by leaving before anybody got too cold. But as soon as I made tracks towards the van, Charlotte began crying. She wanted to stay, she wanted to go with them, and she wanted to see Togo. She was definitley not satisfied by our brief visit and was not convinced that we really saw Togo. Truth be told, I wish this event were more than once a year, I would have liked to have stayed longer, I wanted to go with them, and I wanted to meet Togo too. Maybe Charlotte and I will sneak back there this afternoon to wacth them cross the finish line for this stage of the race.

blogspired

2010-01-29T13:54:00.002-07:00

I admit I have not been very blogspired lately. Here is why:
-dealing off and on-mostly on with sick kids.
-dealing with the stomach flu myself for the 2nd time in 3 months (finally better today), but now I have pinkeye for the 2nd time in 1 month!!!
-dealing with a spacebar on my keyboard that barely works.
-dealing with 2 jobs.
-and then-
-loving my family time
-loving my alone time
-loving dreaming of house projects, wall colors, organization, etc...
-loving being more distant from my computer

so hang in there everyone, I will be blogging, I am just looking for some more good inspiration , oh I mean blogspiration.

Mr. Timothy

2010-01-29T13:49:00.001-07:00

Still a goof. He loves to do whatever his sister is doing, and loves to antagonize her at the same time. His is saying more and more all the time. He is still on one syllable words, and he can just about make any word you say one syllable. He tries to say everything you do, studies your lips, repeats, and will ask you to say the word over and over while he keeps trying to master it.
Some of his favorite words lately are: trash-he will find a piece on the floor-easy to do around here-and take it to the trashcan. I love the eagerness!
deer-while looking out the back window for them.
bus-we see lots of school buses on the mornings that they go to daycare
truck-any large vehicle is pretty darn exciting
plane-he has a serious ear for them flying over
wa-that would be Ava
hhhaathat would be Charlotte
ju-juice, hi, bye, nigh-nigh
the list goes on and on....
He was also having some difficulty with hitting-well we were all having difficulty with it-kids fighting, parents dealing-it was hard. He was really taking pleasure in hitting his sister in the head, banging his cart into cabinets and people, and well just hitting and banging everything he could. After a few weeks of time-outs for uneccessary roughness, the aggression has lessened much to everyone's pleasure.
Lately he is extra cuddly, and I am soaking up all I can.